Organic Products

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has been selling non-organic food products that were misrepresented as organic, according to a legal complaint filed with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The Cornucopia Institute alleges that Wal-Mart has been using "in-store signage" to misidentify conventional produce and dairy products as organic. Wal-Mart said the charges, coming from a group that has opposed Wal-Mart in the past, shouldn't be taken seriously.

My bathroom is a key area in my crude-reduction quest. All manner of petroleum- and natural gas-derived soaps, lotions, perfumes, medicine, plastic bottles and instruments of hygiene (nail files, toothbrushes, etc.) cycle through there regularly. "The extent to which oil and gas is involved in everything is breathtaking," Post-Carbon Institute President Julian Darley said. I find that especially true in my bathroom. Let's consider aspirin.

HOW DOES A retailer that controls about 10% of a market and is competing with much larger players become a monopolistic threat? That's a question the Federal Trade Commission needs to answer before it blocks the proposed merger of Whole Foods Market and the struggling Wild Oats Markets natural foods chain. The FTC warns that the deal, which aims to create a company with sales of $6.8 billion a year, would "tend to create a monopoly in the operation of premium natural and organic supermarkets."

Submit your business questions and they could be answered by keynote speakers at the Los Angeles Times' Small Business Strategies Conference this weekend. Saturday's keynote speakers and their topics: * Kinko's founder Paul Orfalea on how to balance your life with activities other than work. * Business consultant Jack Trout on the need for simple business strategies in an increasingly complicated world.

The rotten economy is eating into sales of organic foods as fewer Americans put these often costly groceries on their plates. Retired school administrator John Frantz recently lost his appetite for organic fruits and vegetables after watching the value of his 401(k) plummet to its lowest level in two years. "I'm probably spending 10% to 15% less on groceries than six months ago," said Frantz, 58, of Chicago. Likewise, Julie Hennessey of West Bloomfield, Mich.

General Mills on Monday said it is ready to begin shipping Sunrise, an organic cereal that marks the company's first venture into the fast-growing, $4.5-billion organic foods market. The Minneapolis-based cereal company's new product will be certified by Oregon Tilth, an industry organization that sets policies and standards for the organic products industry. Sunrise was introduced Monday during the Natural Products Expo West meeting in Anaheim.

Organic ales, lagers and pilsners are increasingly squeezing their way into retail coolers alongside non-organic beers. When Jon Cadoux launched his line of ales under the Peak Organic label this spring, he figured making them organic would distinguish them from the multitude of other beers on the market. At the same time, he wanted to put out a product that he believes is healthier for people and the planet. Cadoux, founder of Peak Organic Brewing Co.

Sprouts Farmers Market has agreed to merge with the Sunflower Farmers Market chain, creating one of the largest natural-food grocery chains in the West, the companies announced. The combined company will operate 139 stores in eight states under the Sprouts name and will have about 10,000 employees. The transaction, which still requires regulatory approval, was expected to close this summer, with all Sunflower stores branded as Sprouts by the end of the year. By adding Sunflower's 35 stores, Sprouts would expand its reach to Nevada, Utah, New Mexico and Oklahoma.

Got grass? The U.S. Department of Agriculture has imposed strict new standards for what kind of milk qualifies as organic: Cows must get plenty of fresh grass and spend at least four months a year grazing in pastures. The rules, which will go into effect June 17, are aimed at standardizing industry practices and easing consumer concerns about how the milk they buy is created. Current rules require milk marketed as organic to come from cows whose feed was grown without chemical fertilizers, pesticides or genetically modified seeds.

Fear and confusion about the health effects of antibiotics, pesticides and hormones used to treat and feed dairy cows have fueled a sales boom for producers of organic milk in the last two years. Once relegated to the shelves of natural foods stores, organic milk has pushed into mainstream supermarkets and the homes of consumers who never before have sought out organic products.